“The tragedy is – no the irony – I DO take Doctor Who seriously,” he wrote. “That IS me being serious. Hmm. Just lost the argument, haven’t I?”

While Graham using the profileÂ of Monastic Productions, the company he founded with Ashley Pharaoh, who co-wrote Life on Mars, also turned to Twitter to attack the veteran screen dramatist:

“Jimmy accusing Doctor Who of irrelevance,” he said. “Perhaps the Doctor should rape all of his companions and turn the TARDIS into a crack den.

Jimmy – some dramas are about northern people raping their sisters because of the legacy of Thatcher’s government. Some dramas are about eccentric time travellers whisking their accomplices off on magical adventures. Some dramas gently and delightfully explore the social morays of the classes in 20th century England. Some dramas brilliantly and compellingly examine the interconnecting lives of residents in a single street.”

Graham added:

“Jimmy, you are a compelling, humane, acerbic and brilliantly relevant writer. One of our very best. But when you grumble about good shows that entertain millions and ask for the spectrum to be reduced you sound like the enemy of creativity. Worry about your own work and keep your nose out of other people’s.”

Everyone has a favourite Doctor and mine - just for his honesty, his fairness and his ability to not notice the Master's awful, awful disguises/anagrams (Sir Gilles Estram!?!) - has to be the Fifth Doctor, Peter Davison. The stories didn’t serve him as well as his acting served those stories.